Vegan Cassoulet – French White Bean Stew

Originating from southern France, the cassoulet is a white bean stew that is traditionally simmered over a long period of time. Since white beans are the soul of this dish, it is easy to adapt it to a vegan preparation where various types of vegetable sausages, smoked or marinated tofu or seitan can be incorporated.

The choice of white beans and other meaty additions depends on region. In general, white kidney beans (or what are known in French as ‘haricots lingot’) or the French Tarbais beans, which are somewhat flatter, are quintessential of this dish. Various dried herbs and vegetables like carrot, leek, celery, chunky sliced tomatoes as well as bread crumbs also find their way into this hearty stew and contribute to a nice flavour and texture profile. There are thus many variations of the cassoulet – Castelnaudary cassoulet, Toulouse cassoulet, cassoulet of Montauban, cassoulet of Carcassonne, cassoulet of Villefranche-de-Lauragais, cassoulet of the countryside, Mounjetado, Perigord cassoulet, the cod cassoulet …

The cassoulet inherits its name from the “cassole” which is a glazed terracotta dish with flared edges. Originally, it was a peasant recipe of meat remnants mixed with beans, then left on a corner of the stove in the morning to simmer all day and was consumed at dinner. It is not until the eighteenth century that the cassoulet, previously called ‘estouffet’, take the name of the name of the dish in which it simmers.

Some variations of the cassoulet calls for a coating of bread crumbs before baking. And when baked, it is traditionally necessary to break the crust that forms on the surface a few times. It seems that there is quite a debate, among the regions, on the proper number of times that the crust needs to be broken and push down into the sauce – seven times according to the grandmothers.

My vegan version of the recipe however, is made in a pressure cooker and there are no skin formation to break. The pressure cooker nevertheless delivers an equally tasty dish while considerably cutting down the cooking time. I have also skipped the bread crumbs but you may add some before serving for some crunchy texture. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can also make it on the stove or in the oven.

Watch the video for the step by step process of how to make this hearty Vegan Cassoulet.

Cooking Equipment

We’d love to hear from you

If you make this Vegan Cassoulet, we’d love to hear what you think. Please leave us a comment below and rate the recipe. It would really make our day! You can also follow us on Instagram and make us drool over your creation. Just tag us @veganlovlie and hashtag #veganlovlie so we don’t miss it.

Set the pressure cooker for 9 minutes at maximum pressure. (I usually use the beans/chilli setting and reduce the time to 9 minutes).

Once the time is up, allow the pressure to go down naturally for 10 minutes. Release any remaining steam from the pressure and open the lid.

While the beans are being cooked, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a skillet.

Add in the sausages and cook while occasionally turning the sausages on all sides until they are done.

Slice the sausages into bite-size chunks (if desired).

Add the sausages to the cooker.

Stir in the tomatoes. Place the regular (glass) lid on the cooker. Set the cooker to soup mode or manual cooking mode on medium temperature and simmer for about 7 – 10 minutes, then cancel any remaining time.

(If you want the cassoulet to be a little soupy, add some water. Or if you want to reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency, simmer uncovered).

Taste and adjust seasonings. Garnish with parsley and serve with bread, rice or a side salad.

Stovetop Instructions

Heat a thick bottom pan or pot on medium temperature.

Follow steps 2 – 3 and 5, as for the pressure cooker instructions.

Cover the pot and simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes or until the beans are soft.

Occasionally stir and check the water level (add more water if needed).

While the beans are cooking, prepare the sausages as per steps 9 – 11 above.

Add the sausages and tomatoes to the pot, cover and simmer for another 7 – 10 minutes.

Love this recipe? Pin it for later.

Free Printable Meal Planner

Subscribe for updates from the blog and YouTube channel and receive a free meal planner as a thank-you gift! Check your email after subscribing to download your free planner.

Email Address

First Name

Read our Privacy Policy.
We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking above to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

Reader Interactions

You might also enjoy these...

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Primary Sidebar

Search this website

We are Teenuja & Kevin, the couple behind the Veganlovlie blog and YouTube Channel. Currently based in Montreal, we are vegan foodies who love to immortalise our vegan recipes into delicious photos and make tempting recipe videos. Read more...

Stay Connected

COPYRIGHT

If you would like to share our content, please share photos (without cropping or editing out our watermark) and a small description with a link back to our original post. Please do not share/republish entire recipes (ingredients and directions) or large bodies of text, edit our photos in any way without our written permission. Social media share and directly embedding our YouTube videos (via the YouTube embed code) are always welcome. Thank you.
Please read more about our copyright notice in the Contact page.

AFFILIATE LINK DISCLOSURE

We sometimes use affiliate links on this website. This means that if you make a purchase through one of these links, Veganlovlie receives a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps support the work that we do and keep the recipes free for you to access. Thank you! 🙂